One of the Millioins of “Kwentong Peyups”
This post is actually about an article I chanced upon in the June 21st issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It was submitted for that special corner in the newpaper entitled, "100 Kwentong Peyups" in honor of UP’s centennial celebration. I decided to reproduce it here, even if am not sure if it’s legal hehe, simply because the story struck a chord in my heart. Just like its author, Kristine Nicole Espiritu, I, too, fell in love with UPLB, with its relaxed environment and essentially, its atmosphere of freedom where, despite its being a premier academia, discourses from absolute esoteric intellectualism to absolute kajologans are welcome. I also fell in love with Mount Makiling, the tall trees–in fact, the tallest I’ve seen in my entire life–the royal palms, the green grass in Freedom Park which turns brown during summer and gets filled with garbage during FebFair, the crisp morning air which cools me during my AM jog, and the cold blue water of the Botanical Gardens which soothes me when i get stressed during hellweeks. Then, there are the elbi people, all of them different and unique in their own rights; each one with his or her special brand of smartness. And the best part of it is that UP fosters that atmosphere of tolerance where quaintness to the point of kaweirdohan is allowed. It is in UP where i wore my worst and best fashion; but who cares? it’s my sense of style anyway.
Everyone who studied at UPLB has his or her elbi story. I have mine, and so do others–college (post-grad, for some) adventures we will never forget.There are the horror dorm stories, the "udo" stories, the terror teacher stories, the roommate stories, and the endless crush stories. Who would also forget the stories about one’s gimmick sa grove, especially sa IC’s, Leandro’s and Flatrocks? I remember, every thursday and friday night the street in grove just in front of IC’s is always filled with beautiful people garbed in their stylish clothes (going after the kill), as if there are no classes, exams or researches to do the day after. There were the familiar faces, the staples of bars and frat/soro parties. I experienced drinking until the wee hours of the morning, and still have to hike all the way back to my dorm in Forestry at 4 AM. Of course, who will also forget the frat/soro/org stories? the pakusganay, eng meet, palacasan, cemplangan and gymkhana–sports events which not only fortified friendships, but also served as the venue of fun banters against each other? In my case, my life was forever changed (for the better of course!) after I joined UP Bugkos. Unfortunately, in my entire stay at elbi, i have not seen a single frat "rambol". Not that i condone frat wars, only that it’s part of the UP life drama. At least, I watched the Oblation Run–every year, in fact.
What I have written so far here is just a small piece of an entire stage in one’s life. One could never articulate the experience of having become part of UP culture. Describing how great (or weird) and life-changing many of the teachers, how bright some of your friends, or how challenging the classes and exams were, as well as talking about your study habit of poring over your books and doing math calculations the entire night, will surely border on kayabangan. Words are also often not enough to describe the exhiliration of being one of the Top 10 in your Stat, Chemistry, Math or Engineering subject, and definitely not enough to describe the crashing fall of a grade of 5.0. But these were nonetheless important ingredients of the peyups life. It’s simply that some things need not be stated anymore; they’re understood. My peyups story is just one of the millions out there. For now, here is Kristine Nicole Espiritu’s story:
Walking on Sunshine
by Kristine Nicole M. Espiritu
Philippine Daily Inquirer; June 21, 2008 p. E3
Six years ago, I had the honor of listening to the late Raul Roco give the commencement address at UPLB. He tried to ease our discomfort of being exposed to the cruel April Sun by saying that body parts exposed to the sun are the tougher parts, and cracked a green joke by asking us to think which part of our body were always hidden and the reason for hiding them—because they were extra sensitive. He said that those exposed to the sun survive the most difficult challenges so the graduates who weren’t protected by the shades shouldn’t feel so bad because they were the tough ones. Of course, he said this as he jokingly compared us to body parts. I was educated in a private school from prep until high school. I was in the shade for too long. I was occasionally exposed to the sun, through my high school outreach program and the annual brown envelopes we were given around October—for World Mission Sunday. Somehow this paled in comparison to the glaring sunlight of my UP education—both inside and outside the classroom.
UPLB was never my first choice when I took the UPCAT. It was only a back-up, and I planned on transferring to Diliman or Manila by the time I reached my second year. Of course, life got in the way. I joined a school organization and my weekly trips home were reduced to coming home twice a month. It alarmed my mother, to the point where she asked my cousins if there was anything wrong. There are experiences that are uniquely UPLB. People say that you’re not a UPLB student until you’ve crossed the never-ending bridge or noticed how the jar held by a statue of Maria Makiling changed positions. UPLB is also famous for its “Fertility Tree”—a tree which, according to urban legend, makes you pregnant when you touch it. Being the dumb freshman during PE 1, I leaned against the tree while tying my shoelace in the middle of the one-mile run. No, I did not get pregnant if that was your next question.
I’ve crawled underneath the gates of St. Therese compound when I didn’t make the curfew. I walked around the campus around 2 AM, guiding friends home as they tumble through the streets, half-drunk. I attended History I classes at the IAST, a building up in Forestry, and rushed down to the Humanities building for Philo I. I forced myself to wake up at 7 AM to attend the late great Dean Payawal’s NASC II class. I learned that we are all children of the stars. I was locked out of my building because the hard-core tibak orgs were protesting the icnrease in tuition. I heard my Soc 116 professor lament on the current state of the nation during the impeachment procedings. I went to Sagada on a class trip to be exposed to the situation of the Igorot tribes living there. I went to the relocation are in San Mateo for a Soc 160 paper. I learned that I cannot change the world alone.
I realized that even the best efforts would result in a scolding–a loud and public one–resulting in fear that not even a grade of 1.25 could wipe out. I found out that I could be one of the top 5 students of my Stat 1 Lab Class and yet get a 4.0 in Anthropology. I had friends that could solve all the problems of this country in one drunken discussion. I met professors that changed my view of the world and sent a spark through me encouraging me to make every effort I can to help change the world. I was introduced to the chilling philosophies of Hitler, to the brilliance of Machiavelli, and the gruesome Yanomamo tribe. I learned to walk slow, eat fast, exceed my alcohol limit at least once, sing and dance in public, and to ask questions no matter how stupid they may be. And if I don’t get answers, I learned where and how to look for them: with patience and perseverance brought on by a thirst for knowledge.
When I go back to UPLB, I can’t help but miss sitting at the Humanities steps and wathcing people. I miss the tambayan where one of my best friends would take our org’s logboook and ask all the questions she could think of from "Will a change in administration chnage the Philippine society?" to "Anong mas masarap: banana o tomato ketchup?" Of course these questions would have different answers. Opinions were always welcome in UP. Disagreements were part of our weekly agenda during general assemblies.
There are still questions left unasnwered like "Bakit may taba sa dulo ng barbeque?" but this only reinforce my desire to learn new things. My mother and my grandmother always said that UP was the best place to get a college education and I am living proof of that. Back in high school, I only thought of UP as a school that accepted brilliant minds. I came to understand that it also molded the most extraordinary people. It gave its students character, uniquely UP. I can’t pinpoint waht specific characteristic it is but I’m positive it’s there. (emphasis supplied)
Now, I see UPLB as the sun. It gave me the light I needed to see the world for what it really was–a big and scary place, corrupted by men but not impossible to change.
–Kristine Nicole Espiritu
Leave a Reply